ALL THINGS LOVABLE

All posts filed under: recipes

I know this blog is called “Utterly Smitten” and all, but I’m going to admit it right here and now, I am not utterly smitten by salads. I think it boils down to the lettuce, really. I just can’t see the point in it. I even take it off of my sandwiches most of the time. That’s why I was pretty excited when I discovered this Autumn Salad over on Sprouted Kitchen. It’s not only amazingly yummy, but also allows for as few or as many greens as the eater desires. And I have a sneaking suspicion it’s fairly healthy, too. A tip if you decide to partake — which I highly recommend you do — make twice the dressing (but with just the one portion of horseradish as it can get pretty intense).

My goal was to post this on Wednesday, the official first day of summer, but that didn’t quite pan out. (Not a good start to my jam-packed, goal-filled summer.) I have an excuse, though: I wanted to find the perfect background picture with which to create an awesome graphic that would surely inspire me to zoom right through my 30 summer bucket list items. I’m still working on that part, so in the meantime, I’m making this official … I’m doing a summer bucket list!!! Summer has a way of biting me in the butt and making me want to go on a thousand adventures. I think it’s the extra sunshine. I pretty much run on solar power. So I decided to create a list of all the fun things I have in store for myself this summer. The best part is I’m planning to blog about all of it, so you’ll have a front-row seat to my adventures and, I’m sure, misadventures. And maybe you’ll even create a bucket list of your own and …

I’m normally not a fan of goat cheese, but this recipe from Smitten Kitchen–officially named Warm, Crisp and A Little Melty Goat Cheese Salad Croutons–looks delicious. Maybe, just maybe, that’s because the cheese is fried. ;) Panko-breaded on the outside, hot and savory on the inside, and served atop a cold, fresh salad. Mmmm…Saturday lunch in your backyard? Have a great weekend, guys! xx {photos by Smitten Kitchen}

I’ve started seeing watermelon at the grocery store. Summer is almost officially here! Oh, picnics and outdoor events and beach days, how I cannot wait for you to arrive. So I’ll make you arrive early with this delightful watermelon juice recipe from Sugar and Charm that sounds perfect for an afternoon on the porch. {Photos via Sugar and Charm}

There’s no way something that looks this good can be good for you. But I really think it might be. I’m loving this snack idea from Caitlin Levin on Justina Blakeney’s blog not only for its healthy yet drool-worthy looks but also because its lets me avoid biting into a whole apple, which I really hate. Weird, I know. Also, kudos to my lovely friend Irvina for alerting me (via Pinterest) to Justina’s adorable blog and this other scrumptious recipe. {Photo via Justina Blakeney}

I know we’ve posted a lot about cookies — especially the chocolate chip variety. But when you see an image like this, how can you resist? And this is exactly my kind of recipe: It calls for a muffin pan (check!) store-bought dough (check!), chocolate chips (check!) and a plastic bag (check!). That’s it! Of course, you could get all fancy and make your own dough, but I just love that Kevin & Amanda are all for the store-bought variety, too. … This could be dangerous.

Happy National Pi Day, everyone! For those of you whose last venture into the world of math was a college communications math class (me), Pi Day is the one day each year when true math fans delight at the aligning of calendar days and the mathematical constant for circles that is March 14, 3/14, 3.14. No matter how you slice it, today’s the day to eat copious amounts of pie and fill your blogs with as many pie/pi puns as possible. So I’m rounding out the day with a list of some of the best-looking pies around, starting with this looker (above) from Bakerella that is pretty much my dream-come-true. 3.14 more pies that strike my fancy: 1. Blackberry Apple Pie from Good Things Grow 2. Pies in a jar from All Jarred Up 3. Apple Pie Caramel Apples from The Girl Who Ate Everything .14. Blueberry Pie Wontons from Cheeky Kitchen (technically these aren’t round, but put a few of them together and you can probably get something resembling a circle)